Abstract
To understand the role of water mains in lead and iron release following lead service line (LSL) replacement, samples were collected from the tap water of 28 homes in Halifax, N.S., after a minimum 6‐h stagnation. In full replacements, average lead concentrations in service lines connected to cast‐iron mains with three different maintenance conditions—pigged, pigged and lined, and not pigged or lined—were 31.5±11.0, 3.3±2.3, and 3.7±2.7 μg/L, respectively, compared with 0.58±0.2 μg/L for ductile‐iron mains. In partial replacements, average lead concentrations were 63.09±30.9, 14.60±2.9, and 6.82±3.3 μg/L, respectively, for the three cast‐iron main conditions, compared with 8.5±3.1 μg/L for ductile‐iron mains. Adsorption of lead on iron corrosion scales dissolved or dislodged from tuberculated mains could account for the higher lead release observed. In this study, full replacement LSLs connected to ductile‐iron mains had the lowest lead concentrations.
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